Finding my way Home
by cae-prince
Summary: Read on to find out... the summmary would spoil it
1. Default Chapter

Finding my way home 

**By **[**Caroline Prince**][1]

            Author's Note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews of the previous series!! You guys are GOLD!!

This is yet another idea I came up with while doing the previous series - My Best Friend, My Prince, My Soulmate. So I thought I'd put it up, before I forgot all about it. BTW, in this fic all thoughts and flashbacks are in italics. 

Chapter 1 : The biggest mistake 

Monica stared around at the living room. She sighed. As usual, he was late. 

It was 10 P.M. 

It had been like this for the past three months. And it was all her fault (atleast, it felt that way). She should have known better than to open her big mouth and ask him for the one thing he wasn't ready to give her. 

It had led to huge screaming matches in the beginning. But now there was only silence. Cold and uncomfortable silence whenever they were in the same room. While they ate, the only sounds were that of the cutlery scraping the china. And Monica hated it. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, Monica looked at the clock. 

10:30 P.M 

He still wasn't home. And the dinner was getting cold. 

11:00 P.M 

Monica decided to go to bed. Just as she reached the stairs, she heard a key in the door. She turned around just as he walked in. 

"Where were you?" she demanded. 

"Out." he replied shortly. 

"Oh! I didn't know that!" she said sarcastically. 

"Monica, why do you care where I went? I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." 

"My, my! Am I happy to know that! I'm proud of you, big boy." she spat. "Quit beating around the bush and tell me where you went!" 

"To Shelley's." he said flatly. 

"Shelley? That slut who works at my restaturant. Wow!", she said. "Atleast you admitted your affair. Good job, that!" 

"Listen, I can't take anymore of this. I'm leaving New York, Monica and I'm not taking you with me." 

"Who said anything about coming with you?" 

"No... what I meant is... I want a divorce." 

"What? So rather than try to work this out, you're going the easy way. Divorce. Fine with me.", she said through gritted teeth. 

"Well, that's good." he said wanting to hurt her even more. 

"So... this Shelley... is she coming with you?" her voice held no sign of the hurt she was feeling. 

"Yeah, she's handing in her notice tomorrow." he looked squarely at her. 

The words stung Monica. She couldn't believe he was being so blunt about his affair. Anger coursed through her body like poison. 

"Sounds like you've had all this already planned out. For how long? How long has this being goin' on?", she asked unable to keep her voice down anymore. 

"Three months." 

The words hit her with the force of a brick. Three months. Ever since she felt her life hit the downward-spiral. 

"Oh, I can't believe I allowed myself to marry you," Monica yelled at him. "I fell for all your charms and finally it's come to this!" 

"I don't care! All I know is I don't want to be your husband anymore.", he reached into his coat and produced a manila envelope. "Sign those. I'll collect it in the morning." And without another word, he was gone. 

Monica stared at the closed door, feeling her eyes begin to sting. She brushed away the tears. She would not cry over him. He didn't deserve that. 

She walked over to her husband's desk and sat down. She pulled out the documents from the envelope. 

**_Petition for divorce_**

The words swam around in her head. She blinked furiously, trying to stem the flow of tears. In all her life, she never thought it would come to this. Here she was, 27 yrs old and about to be divorced. She looked up from the papers and her eyes fell on the photo-frame - her wedding day - the day she'd made the biggest mistake of her life. 

She could vaguely remember the day she'd announced her engagement to her friends. But what she could remember most vividly about that day, was when she broke the news to him - her best friend and confidant. 

****Flashback****

_"You're actually going to marry him?" he asked incredulously. _

"I thought you liked Richard," she protested. 

"Oh, I like him...", he paused. 

"But?", she prompted. 

"But, I just don't know whether you're doing the right thing." 

"What? Chandler, he loves me." 

"I know. But what I do question is whether deep down you really love him." 

"I..I don't know... I, honest to God, don't know. I think, I do love him. Chandler, I thought you'd be happy for me." 

"Oh Mon, I'm happy for you. No-one deserves this more than you. Believe me. And if you are 100% sure that Richard can give you that happiness you crave for, then good for you.", he hugged her. 

"So... you're really happy for me?" 

"Yes." 

****End Flashback****

Chandler had a premonition even at that time. Why hadn't she listened to him? Come to think of it, even Ross and the rest of the gang were not that enthusiastic about her engagement. She knew it. Why had she not taken the 'not-so-subtle' hints from all of them and ended it when she had the chance? But no, stupid Monica married Richard and finally ended up with a broken heart. 

_What was I thinking? How could I let myself believe that the secret to my happiness lay in a guy who was 20 yrs older to me - my dad's age?_

She sighed and looked back down at the papers. She grabbed a pen from the pen-stand and signed for the last time - Monica Geller - Burke. 

That signature closed a chapter in her life. It was over. She was Monica Geller - just Monica Geller. 

She set her pen down and looked around the room. A place which once felt like home was now a source of pain and agony. She was now a stranger. She didn't belong here - she needed to go home. 

Home? Where was home? 

Once again his voice filled her head. 

_"Monica, if you ever need me - for anything... you know where to find me. I'll be home."_

So that was it. She knew where home was and she was going there. She was going home... home to the life she once lived. 

She stood up and walked up the stairs to the bedroom. She stuffed some clothes and a toothbrush in a night-bag and came back downstairs. She walked back to the desk. The papers were still lying outside. She stuffed them back into the cover and her eyes once again fell on the wedding photo. In a sudden fit of anger, she slammed the frame down. There was a sound of cracking glass - but she didn't care. She was going home. 

* * *

A.N. And that's it for Chapter 1. BTW, I hope I had you going in the beginning. Did you seriously think, I'd allow my fave couple to go thru' a divorce? Nu--Uh! 

   [1]: mailto:caroline_prince2002@yahoo.co.in?subject=Review



	2. The ReUnion

Finding my way home 

**By **[**Caroline Prince**][1]

            Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Characters not mine. 

Chapter 2 : The Re-Union 

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

Chandler opened one eye, listening intently. Hearing nothing, he closed his eye. 

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

Chandler sat up. He looked around nervously. His eyes fell on the time-piece on his nightstand. 1:45 A.M. 

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

Okay, so he wasn't imagining it. He got off the bed and cautiously made his way towards the living room. 

_Tap! Tap! Tap!_

God! Someone was at his door. Which crazed lunatic was knocking at his door at this un-earthly hour? He was about to reach for the light-switch, when he heard a soft voice from the other side, "Chandler?" 

Oh man, whoever was on the other side knew his name. Was she a stalker? He brushed the ridiculous notion aside. Who would want to stalk him? Then he heard it again. 

"Chandler?" 

He recognized that voice... he would know that voice anywhere. He only needed to make sure. He turned on the light & peeped through the peep-hole. He was right. It was Monica. 

He opened the door a whispered, "Monica?" 

Chandler's heart gave a lurch when she raised her head. She looked sheet-white and her blue eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. Her cheeks were still wet. 

"Oh Monica, what happened?", his voice was a mixture of surprise and concern. 

"Chandler... " she choked. "I... I..." 

Chandler quietly gathered her into her arms. "Shhh... shhh.... " he whispered trying to get her to stop crying. He led her into the apartment and made her sit on the barca-lounger. He settled himself into the other chair and whispered, "What happened?" 

"My marriage is over Chandler" 

"What?!!" 

"You heard me. He wants a divorce. Actually we're already divorced." 

"Why?!" 

"It... it all began when I tried to broach the topic of having a baby," she explained. "He just didn't want that. Everything down-spiralled from there." 

"Monica, how long has this been going on?" 

She looked down. This was one question she didn't want to answer. It would hurt him. 

"Monica, how long has this been going on?" Chandler repeated. 

"For nearly three months," she sighed. 

"Three months?!! And yet you did not breathe a word about it to anyone of us? Why?" Chandler looked at her incredulously. "You know, we would have helped you. You didn't have to go through all of this alone." Her head was still bowed down. He knelt down next to her chair and tilted her chin upwards, forcing her to look at him. "Why?" he asked again. 

"Chandler, I should have listened to you," she sobbed. 

"What? What are you talking about?" 

"When you tried to warn me against marrying him, I should have listened." 

Chandler didn't comment on that, instead he asked, "So, you're telling me - your marriage is over because of Richard's refusal to have a baby?" 

"That and he was carrying on with Shelley Marks from my restaurant." 

Chandler stared in disbelief. His mind was a whirl of emotions now. Of all things, he'd never expected this. One part of him wanted to hunt Richard down and kick his ass and the other part (the rational part) wished it knew how to make her pain disappear. 

For once, he heeded his rational side and pulled Monica into a tight hug. The 'ass-kicking' could be left for later in his agenda, he decided. 

He pulled away from the hug and said, "You know what, any guy that isn't faithful to you isn't good enough to be your husband." 

"Maybe, I wasn't good enough to be his wife." 

"That's crap and you know it. He doesn't deserve you, Mon. You are seriously better off without him. Now you really need to get some sleep. Come on." 

She nodded, "Yeah. Just let me brush my teeth and change into my night clothes." 

She stood up. She grabbed her night dress and toothbrush from the bag and headed for the bathroom. 

When she emerged a few minutes later, she found Chandler waiting for her holding a glass of water and two Aspirin, which he held out to her. 

She took it and whispered, "Thank you, Chandler." 

"Sweetie, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't need..." 

She cut him off with a finger on his lips, "I know. But I wanted to." 

He smiled, "You ready for bed? Come on, you can sleep on my bed. I'll kip on the couch." 

"Yeah. By the way, where's Joey?", she had completely forgotten to ask about Joey. 

"Date." he grinned. 

"Oh!", she smiled, her first genuine smile in the day. 

He tucked her in and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, "Good night, Monica." 

"Good Night, Chandler.", she reached for his hand. He squeezed her hand as it clasped in his. He held her hand till he was sure she was asleep. Then he gently reached over and turned the night lamp off and tip-toed out of the bedroom. 

********** 

The next morning, Monica woke up to the smells of roasting bacon wafting through the bedroom. She walked out of the room to find Chandler at the stove and Joey at the counter sipping a glass of orange juice. 

"Good Morning!", she said cheerfully. 

Two heads turned towards her. She watched in amusement as Joe's face turned from scared to surprised. So Chandler had not yet told Joey anything, she noted. 

"Monica!!", Joey yelled as he lunged for her, embracing her. Over his shoulder, Monica saw Chandler wearing an amused look. 

"What are you doing here? And where is the old ball'n'chain?", Joey asked as he let go of her. 

Monica's face fell and Joey looked confused. "What's going on?", Joey wondered. 

Chandler came over to Monica's side and put an arm around her shoulder. He then explained the complete situation to Joey. 

When Chandler finished, Joey's face had turned beet-red. He began to express his desire to go and "kick-some-ass", when Chandler cut him off. "Later Joe!", he said. 

Monica was finishing her breakfast when Ross and Rachel entered the apartment, bickering loudly about Mark. They were so engrossed in the fight that they didn't notice the new person in the apartment. 

Finally, Chandler who was disgusted with the whole thing, yelled, "When you both have put your eyes back in, you'll be able to see who has arrived." 

They stopped and turned around. 

"Monica!", Rachel shrieked as she rushed to hug her best friend. "Where is Rich..." 

"Don't ask! Don't even ask!", Joey yelled cutting Rachel's question off. 

Ross who was about to hug Monica stopped and asked, "Why? What's going on?" 

There was a long pause. 

Ross was slipping into psycho "big-brother" mode. He had struck up a "kara-tay" pose. "What? What? Tell me what's going on! Or else... ", Ross stuttered. 

"Or else, what? You'll Hi-YA?", Rachel mocked. That caused Monica to smile, albeit briefly. 

Ross glared at Rachel. Turning to Monica, he demanded, "Where is Richard?" 

Monica sighed, resigning herself to explaining the divorce to Ross. 

Ross was now in full "big-brother" mode. He jumped up in anger, "I'll kill him. I'll beat the pulp out of him." 

Chandler grabbed hold of Ross' collar and pushed him back into the chair. "Beating the pulp out of Richard is not going to help Monica, Ross" he said. "So, try to concentrate on making Monica feel better first." 

"OK, OK", Ross took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Uh, do Mom and Dad know about this?" 

"No" Monica said. That was what she'd been dreading - telling her parents. While she was sure that her dad would atleast try to see things from her point of view, her mom on the other hand would go all... well... 'Judy' on her. 

"Are you gonna tell them?" Ross wondered. 

"Not now - maybe later. Listen Ross, I feel like I've been hit by an atom bomb. I need some time to work up the courage to face them - especially Mom. When I do tell them, I'm gonna need your support" 

"Of course, Mon." Ross hugged his sister and then continued "I do wish I could go and strangle Richard now. I never thought he'd be one to go and have an affair and then flaunt it openly. Its such an insult." 

Just then they were interrupted by a strange and deep voice, "Ah, the sixth void has been filled once again. There is a sense of completion in here." 

Astonished, five heads turned towards the doorway. Phoebe was standing there, her eyes closed and a peculiar expression on her face. Everyone except Joey, rolled their eyes. 

Joey exclaimed, "Pheebs, you're brilliant. How did you know that Monica was back?" 

"She is?", Phoebe looked surprised, but then amended herself. "Uh...I mean of course she is! After all I'm _psychic_ !" 

"What else is new?", Rachel muttered under her breath as she watched Phoebe greet Monica. 

*Thatt's it! Chapter 2! Read and Review!* 

   [1]: mailto:caroline_prince2002@yahoo.co.in?subject=Review



End file.
